


Rush

by Wendi



Series: Sanctuary [2]
Category: DCU Animated, Smallville
Genre: Alternate Timeline, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-06
Updated: 2009-12-06
Packaged: 2017-10-04 05:13:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wendi/pseuds/Wendi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part 2 of the <i>Sanctuary</i> series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rush

Chloe clicked on the tiny x that took away the pictures she'd spent way too much time moping over since last spring. Swiping away stubborn tears she signed on to chat, watery green eyes scanning over the list of available chatters. She swirled the arrow over FastNFun's screen name, trying to convince herself that messaging him wasn't an act of sheer desperation. Brushing her fingers beneath the tip of her red nose, she laughed aloud when a message box popped up from him. He had excellent timing.

 

**FastNFun**: You're late.

**WeirdWatcher**: Long day. Sorry.

**FastNFun**: Uh-oh, you're abrupt. Should I leave you alone?

**WeirdWatcher**: No! Please don't.

**WeirdWatcher**: Wait, no. I should warn you. I'm actually excessively needy tonight but I'll try not to whine.

**FastNFun**: Let me guess, crush-dork?

**WeirdWatcher**: Something like that. We'll just say I finally saw the light. Unfortunately, it was spilling over him and roommate, while they made out in the barn loft.

**FastNFun**: The _barn loft_?? And you want this guy _why_??

**WeirdWatcher**: LOL! See, this is what I needed. I haven't laughed all day.

**FastNFun**: Okay, here's your chance. What does he do, milk a cow and pour up some fresh cream in champagne flutes? Wait, I'll bet spends all day mucking out a stall so they can have a roll in the hay together.

**WeirdWatcher**: I wouldn't doubt it. Horses _are_ her first love.

**FastNFun**: Then they deserve each other. Seriously, she loves horses and she's snagged a jackass. What more could a girl want?

**WeirdWatcher**: Did you ever have one of those days where you're sure that if you could just rewind it, you'd see the disclaimer scrolling beneath your feet that says everything you're about to see is for entertainment purposes only?

**FastNFun**: I try not to think about rewinding my days. Just thinking of it makes me dizzy. Why don't you try living in fast forward, instead?

**WeirdWatcher**: Are you tempting me with riddles, again? Please tell me you're not one of those freaks from Gotham.

**FastNFun**: I promise, I'm a freak from Nebraska/Missouri.

**WeirdWatcher**: A freak? How exactly are you a freak?

**FastNFun**: Your nose for weird is twitching, isn't it?

**WeirdWatcher** And now you're taunting my investigative instincts!

**FastNFun**: No, I'm just trying not to become an interview.

**WeirdWatcher**: I wasn't grilling you, I'm just asking a question.

**WeirdWatcher**: You brought up the whole thing about being a freak.

**FastNFun**: My dad says all teenagers are freaks.

**WeirdWatcher**: I can see where your self-esteem issues come from.

**FastNFun**: Hey! I've got plenty of self-esteem.

**WeirdWatcher**: Yeah, except for the part where you won't ask anyone to the fall formal and you hang out with your aunt and uncle for fun.

**FastNFun**: My aunt and uncle are a lot more interesting than most people's relatives!

**WeirdWatcher**: All I'm saying is that I live in the land of weird and I find time to go to school dances. *poke*

**FastNFun**: Do that again, a little lower.

**WeirdWatcher**: Freak!! ;)

**FastNFun**: Yeah, you missed the disclaimer, remember?

**WeirdWatcher**: Why can't you live somewhere nearby so we could commiserate over coffee together?

**FastNFun**: If I were nearby, you'd kill me, because the first thing I'd do is hit on you. Then I'd refuse to let you get depressed over a guy who's clearly got other things on his agenda. After that, I'd challenge you to a lewd game of Twister, make you go for a run with me, and invite you to go on a junk food binge. I mentioned the hitting on you, right?

**WeirdWatcher**: You know, I could go for all of that except the running part. I'm so not a fitness freak. I'd kick your ass at Twister. I'm extremely flexible.

**FastNFun**: Hurt me, lady.

**WeirdWatcher**: Oh, I would. ;) So, tell me what you've got planned for the summer.

**FastNFun**: Hanging out here at my uncle's house. I'm kind of an apprentice. Sort of.

**WeirdWatcher**: And that's it? That's your big plan for the rest of the summer?

**FastNFun**: This is the part where you ridicule me, right? I know it sounds lame, but it's important stuff. My aunt says if I keep saying that, I'll believe it. I'm skeptical, but willing to give it a try.

**WeirdWatcher**: Don't forget to get a date for the fall formal.

**FastNFun**: Are you nagging me?

**WeirdWatcher**: Nope, just being your friendly reminder service.

**FastNFun**: Yeah, you're like the word of the day, always there, even if you don't know what to do with it.

**WeirdWatcher**: :P

**FastNFun**: What about you? Big plans for the summer?

**WeirdWatcher**: Weird watching, investigating, visiting the family in Metropolis.

**FastNFun**: Getting away to the big city's gotta be better than hanging around barn lofts.

**WeirdWatcher**: Definitely. My cousin's taking finals in two weeks. We're thinking of going on a road trip or something. Maybe going to the beach. Somewhere very far away from Kansas.

**FastNFun**: Take your laptop. Some of us will be stuck in the midwest, waiting around to chat.

**WeirdWatcher**: I don't go anywhere without my laptop and camera. I'll definitely be around.

**FastNFun**: Maybe before school starts back we can hook up at Six Flags or something?

**WeirdWatcher**: Sure!

**FastNFun**: Cool. Okay, I've gotta hit the sack. Early run tomorrow morning and my aunt will bitch if she checks in on me and I'm not in bed. Catch you tomorrow?

**WeirdWatcher**: Of course! Hey, thanks for making me laugh tonight.

**FastNFun**: Remember, no matter how much life truly sucks--at least you're not sipping warm milk from a champagne flute in a barn loft.

**WeirdWatcher**: Got it. Thanks!

**FastNFun**: Btw, I think you're beautiful and I've never laid eyes on you. For what it's worth. ;)

**FastNFun signed off at 11:28pm**

 

**

 

Every lap burned out another thought in his head. If he kept this up, Wally thought he might get rid of all the crap cluttering the space between his ears, by sundown.

 

Bored.

 

So bored.

 

And hot.

 

Spandex in summer was a bad idea.

 

Wally ran through the wheat field, beating down what he imagined would appear to be a pretty impressive crop circle from above. It was theoretically an exercise to help release pent up energy while Uncle Barry set up obstacles and victim stand-ins along the chosen route that cut across the mid-section of the nation. Instead, Wally was feeling strangely akin to the hamster that his best friend Joey had kept running on a wheel for most of its brief, furry life. More often than not these days, he was feeling like a trained pet, kept in a cage.

 

_Practice, Wally. The speed is your gift, controlling it is the true task._

 

Uncle Barry was full of wisdom and advice and endless criticism. Wally understood the danger his speed presented to others, he just chose not to think of it, most of the time. Truth was, at sixteen, there was a whole side of this superhero gig that he wasn't ready to face, and it was mostly the parts that ended up with blood and pain or things a lot worse than that. Wally thought the Speed Force must have a pretty good sense of humor, slapping a kid his age with something this big. In fact, most days he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to save the world.

 

_Your advantage is that you're fast enough to stop a lot of things before they ever occur, Wally. Think of yourself as the preventative hero. You stop messes before they happen._

 

So it was Wally West vs. A World Of Bad, and the punch line to _that_ joke was the best one of all, because Wally wouldn't even get the regular arsenal of super powers. There'd be no climbing buildings with cool webbing or turning green and throwing cars around. The Flash had no telepathy, no fancy weapons, no seriously cool power of flight. Then again, Wally had noticed capes went with that kind of thing most of the time, and he didn't exactly see himself as a caped kind of crusader. Or a crusader of any kind, really. What was the big mission of The Flash? _Get there. Fast._

 

"Oh, yeah, that's a calling that'll stand through the ages." Wally stopped running, waiting on the rustle and bobbing of the wheat stalks to settle before he dropped down to sit in the center of his lopsided crop circle. From what he could tell, it probably looked like a really big D from the air. Which was perfect. D is for Dork. Dumbass. Danger to society. Flopping back to lay in the tall, golden grass, Wally stared up at the sky, making patterns out of the clouds. Cool. That one kind of looked like an ice cream cone, and he could really go for _anything_ to eat right now. Uncle Barry was trying to control his sugar intake, which was an effort in futility, as far as Wally was concerned. What was the use in trying to check a sugar rush when your motor ran on high throttle 24/7?

 

Wally sought out more food among the clouds, finding a corn dog drifting over near the river and a pile of cobbler topped with a double scoop of ice cream on top, over by the distant peaks of the mountains. Or better than cobbler, just a plain old ice cream sundae. Topped with caramel or hot chocolate and whipped cream. Strawberries. WeirdWatcher liked strawberry everything. Bubble gum, milkshakes, those little hard candies that came wrapped in cellophane that looked like a berry. He'd walk up to her (in his mind, she looked like Fred Burkle, because she was smart, kind of kooky and spent a lot of time researching really weird stuff) and say something incredibly witty as he pulled out two spoons in a smooth invitation for her to join him.

 

They could share a sundae and he'd tell her about how much it sucked to have to spend a gorgeous day like today running fast across the countryside, pretending he couldn't see the lucky bastards tubing down the river. Then he'd listen to her stories about the day a town exploded and started giving birth to monsters, and her plans on exposing those monsters and getting them help, someday. He'd tell her that he had a feeling she was more cut out for this superhero business than he was, and she'd tell him that he probably wasn't giving himself enough credit and maybe they'd kiss while the sundae melted in the cup between them.

 

Maybe he'd ask her to the fall formal and she'd tell him it was a little far to drive from Weirdville and he'd offer to pick her up. Wally grinned, seeing it on the back of his eyelids like a movie. Scooping her up in an evening gown and apologizing ahead of time for what he was going to do to her hair. She'd laugh, though, and when he stopped on the bluffs overlooking town, she'd kiss him and they'd decide to skip the formal and just dance in the dark while they talked about chasing destiny. Then they'd kiss again and he'd tell her she tasted like strawberries and

 

"Enjoying your nap?"

 

Wally's eyes snapped open and he squinted up at his uncle Barry, looming over him with a smirk. "I thought you weren't ever coming back." Pushing himself up off the ground, Wally dusted off the tight, slippery uniform that coated his body like a second skin. "You know, red attracts sunlight. It gets _hot_ out here."

 

"It's a wonder you're not dead of sunstroke." Barry pointed him towards the west. "Stay along the banks of the river. I've set up a half dozen or so targets and the last one," he grinned over at Wally, finally granting his nephew the payoff he'd promised in the dim hours before dawn. "Is on the other side of the Rockies."

 

Wally zipped around excitedly, wreaking havoc on the wheat field before coming back to a quick halt in front of his uncle. "Seriously?! I get to cross the mountains?"

 

Barry nodded, clapping a hand on his shoulder as he cautioned. "Be careful on the peaks and remember the air's thinner up there."

 

Wally nodded, already feeling the urge to race rolling like heat through his veins. "Right."

 

"And the temperature change is going to smart," Barry reached into the bag slung over his shoulder to fish out a tin of lip balm, but the whistle of wheat signalled that he was too late. Jerking his head up he watched Wally race away, a red blur that the human eye could rarely register but that he could track as a fellow speedster. Smiling, he shook his head and remembered his first run over the Rockies. There was really nothing like it. "Have fun."

 

**

 

Chloe stopped the car just outside of her subdivision, turning on the interior light as she dug a make-up wipe from her purse. A few quick swipes and the heavy lipstick disappeared, another wipe for the eyeliner and heavy mascara that smudged then eventually melted into the natural dark circles that had started to appear more and more frequently beneath her eyes. A third wipe scrubbed away most of the blush and foundation and a quick glimpse in the mirror reassured her that most of her careful mask was gone. The last thing she needed was her father questioning her sudden change in style. Being sixteen definitely put a crimp in undercover work, but for now it was just another obstacle to be worked around.

 

Chloe took a deep breath and released the last of the tension that had numbed her throughout most of the encounter with Lionel Luthor. Her gut told her that Lionel believed her just petty and vindictive enough to be looking for revenge on Clark, and he really had no reason to suspect that she had other motives for getting closer to the enigmatic CEO of LuthorCorp. Afterall, he had no way of knowing she had spent weeks commuting back and forth between Edge City and Metropolis, keeping her mind off of the deteriorating situation with Clark and Lana by throwing herself into researching Smallville's eternal mysteries. She'd hit dead ends everywhere she looked, with more questions now than she had started with a few weeks before, but this summer was going to be spent doing a lot more than writing a column for the Planet that was meant to satisfy her ego. She was going to have answers about a _lot_ of things, before school started back in the fall.

 

Chloe turned into the subdivision and turned off the lights before she pulled into the drive at her house. Glancing up through the windshield she blew out a reluctant sigh. Lana's light was on, so there would be no avoiding the inevitable confrontation about Clark. Opening her door, she climbed out of the Volkswagen and crept up the front steps into the house. Light flickered from the den and a quick peek revealed her dad had fallen asleep on the sofa again. From the looks of it, Lana had draped a throw over him and cleaned up the plate of food he would've eaten in front of a late night block of _Everybody Loves Raymond._ Lana took care of everyone. Chloe checked her bitterness as she hung her jacket on the hook by the door and crept up the stairs. Something soft and saccharine was dying slowly on the other side of Lana's closed door and Chloe breathed a silent thank you to the gods who protected spurned teenage girls, almost inside her room before she heard Lana's door open.

 

"Chloe?"

 

The stuffy, sniffled plea grated against Chloe's already frazzled nerves but she steeled her shoulders and asked in a normal voice. "Guess if you're crying, you've talked to Clark." She turned around, leaning against her door frame and reluctantly meeting Lana's gaze, across the way. "I admit it. I lost my temper and blew up at him, but you know, I'm a big girl. I'll get over this and apologize and--"

 

"Clark's gone."

 

If she had paid attention, Chloe would've recognized the distant, shocked expression on Lana's face immediately. Caught up in her own internal drama, she'd failed to notice Lana was wearing the same look she'd had the night she came home to tell Chloe that Whitney was Missing in Action. Fear sliced through Chloe like a sharp shard of ice. "Gone?" Her brows furrowed, then quirked up in disbelief. "Gone where?"

 

Lana swallowed, closing her eyes, and for a moment Chloe thought the worst. "Metropolis, I think." She shook her head, confused when she looked over again. "He--there was something wrong. He said he had to leave." Lana swiped the back of her hand against her cheek, then tucked it back against her side, hugging herself tightly as she shuddered through a choked back sob. "He asked me to go with him, but he wouldn't stay." Eyes pooling with misery Lana sniffed and rolled her lips together, admitting what was probably her worst possible fear. "Chloe, I don't think he's ever coming back."

 

**

 

**FastNFun**: Another late night? I'll trade you a couple of insanely early mornings for them.

**WeirdWatcher**: Things have been _crazy_ here.

**FastNFun**: That's the way you like it, right? Edge of your seat drama and mysteries everywhere.

**FastNFun**: Or not.

**FastNFun**: Hello? Is it my breath?

**WeirdWatcher**: No, sorry! I'm just looking up things online. And yes, I love mysteries, but not these kinds of mysteries. Crush boy ran away from home. Lana's currently crying herself sick across the hall and I'm trying to figure out a way to wake my dad up and tell him his boss' plane went down about two hours ago.

**FastNFun**: Okay, it's safe to say Weirdville just opened up a can on your ass, huh?

**WeirdWatcher**: Definitely. I can't find any useful information about the plane crash online and I have no idea what's going on with crush boy except that he probably ran away to Metropolis.

**FastNFun**: Then we've got a starting place.

**WeirdWatcher**: I keep telling myself I should've known something was wrong with him today.

**WeirdWatcher**: _We_?? We've got a starting place?

**FastNFun**: Yeah, we. What'd you say your address was?

**WeirdWatcher**: I didn't, but it's 2210 Pleasant Meadows Lane, Smallville KS 66041.

**FastNFun**: Thanks! But you know you should never give that information out to a stranger on the Internet.

**WeirdWatcher**: Are public service announcements part of your parole?

**FastNFun**: No, but you should start counting backwards from thirty and then listen.

**WeirdWatcher**: I'm sure you're being extremely clever but to be honest with you I don't have the energy to crack the code tonight, so an explanation would be greatly appreciated.

**WeirdWatcher**: Hellooo? Anybody there?

**WeirdWatcher**: Your excuse had better involve a sudden attack of stomach cramps because I'm starting to feel ignored.

 

Chloe looked over her shoulder when she heard a distinct tap against her window. She typed in a quick _brb_ and slid her desk chair back, walking past the television that played CNN's low, unending coverage of the missing LuthorCorp jet. She saw the second pebble that ticked against the glass and reached into her top dresser drawer for the flashlight she kept there for power outtages. Flicking it on she cautiously unlatched the window and slid it up, clicking on the high beam and shining it down on the lawn as she peeked out into the darkness.

 

Light caught and flashed on wide green eyes before they turned away, one arm thrown up to block the high beam intensity of the light. "Ow, jeez! Way to blind a guy."

 

Chloe ventured a closer look, casting most of the beam off to the side of the guy, but keeping him in the pool of light. "Who _are_ you?"

 

"It's me. FastNFun." The arm dropped, revealing a smile. "But everybody else just calls me Wally."


End file.
